Environment: Trafficking by Computer

The computer, which is supposed to solve all problems, has now been
handed the problem of traffic control in downtown Washington, D.C.

The experiment, covering half a square mile near the White House, was
devised by the Sperry Rand Corp. under a $4.1 million contract with the
Federal Highway Administration. Electronic sensors, embedded in the
streets, monitor the flow of vehicles above them. Telephone wires carry
the information to a central computer that is programmed to analyze
these data immediately, and to send back the appropriate commands to
street lights.